President Obama took office in 2009 amidst the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, after the seven years the Republicans held the presidency, the House of Representatives, Senate and the Supreme Court.

When hundreds of thousands of Americans were losing their jobs as a consequence of deregulations, tax reductions for millionaires, and two wars, the GOP wanted the new president to create millions of jobs overnight and blasted him for not doing so. They knew it was impossible with the economy in complete disarray.

Congress is the legislative power in a democratic government; it makes the laws. The Republicans have been the majority in the House of Representatives for six months now. Why haven’t they tried, at least, to pass some laws to quickly create millions of jobs for people instead of hammering on earmarks, repealing “ObamaCare,” making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent? These tax cuts have been in full force since 2003, but they did not prevent the economic crisis. They keep insisting on that because they know they cannot create so many jobs so quickly.

What we see now is a policy of no compromise to try somehow to defeat the president and get back in power. Get in power again for what? Is power the only thing that matters? What kind of democracy is that?

LEDY TORRES Fontana

Best example?

A recent letter writer (“Violence protected,” July 16) mistakenly states the Ten Commandments are not protected by freedom of speech in the U.S. Constitution.

The very First Amendment to our Constitution fully protects the free exercise of religion, but first and foremost prohibits Congress from making any law respecting the establishment of religion, the so-called separation of church and state. Why is that?

The men who thought, fought and died to establish our new country knew only too well the consequences of a theocratic government. History, as well as today’s news, is full of the violence wrought by dogmatic followers acting in the name of their god.

Because the writer specifically questions why not provide an honored place for these Old Testament commandments in our public (government) places and our (public) schools we need only read them and the consequences for breaking them.

This god promises his vengeance not just on the guilty but for the next four generations deep to the great-great-grandkids of the perpetrator. There would be a lot of kids on death row for what grandpa did.

I too am appalled by the excessive violence on TV, in the movies, and video games. But I am much more appalled by real violence, especially as committed by the faithful in the name of their god. The scriptures of all three of the monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) are based on the Hebrew Old Testament, a decidedly violent, blood-soaked book.

Is this really the best claim as a source of morality we can come up with to teach our children?

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